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2024 Student paper competition

CBHD invites undergraduate and graduate students in any field to submit papers that address questions associated with our conference theme—The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics, and our MedTech World—or that engage more broadly with other foundational and emerging bioethical issues raised at the intersections of medicine, science, technology, and our common humanity. For more information, see the Submission Guidelines below.

The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics, and our MedTech World

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity
31st Annual Summer Conference
June 27–29, 2024
Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL, USA

SUBMIT YOUR PAPER

Prize Information

  • $250, to be awarded at the conference
  • Waived conference registration fee
  • Consideration for publication with CBHD
  • The author will present the winning paper during a parallel paper session at the annual conference (June 27–29, 2024)

Submission guidelines

All serious papers relevant to the study of Christian bioethics are welcome, particularly those in the following subject areas:

- Biblical and/or Theological Anthropology
- Biblical and/or Theological Approaches to Cultural Engagement
- Biblical and/or Theological Ethics
- General Bioethics
- Biotechnology
- Disability
- Emerging Technologies
- End-of-Life Issues
- Ethical Theory
- Historical Theology and/or Perspectives
- Philosophy of Medicine
- Reproductive Technology and Ethics
- Technology Assessment​

‍Questions about whether your paper idea is relevant? Contact us at research@cbhd.org.  ‍‍

Guidelines

  • ‍Submitted papers should not exceed 5,000 words (including notes and references, excluding bibliography) and should be able to be read within 25 minutes. (Please indicate which sections of the final paper [if any] will not be read during the presentation.)
  • All papers will be blind reviewed and evaluated based on the engagement with Christian bioethics, along with the overall quality of scholarship and composition.
  • Submitted papers must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere.‍‍
  • In addition to the paper, all submissions must include an abstract of 250 words and a formal title.
  • The title page should include the following: 2024 Student Paper Competition, title, and name. All subsequent pages should include "Title—page #" in the bottom right of the footer and should include nothing that might identify the author.
  • If students are interested to be considered for the broader call for proposals beyond the single slot allotted to the winner of the student paper competition, they may also submit an abstract of their paper for the general call for proposals before the December 18, 2023 deadline. (In other words, students may submit the same paper for the general call as well as the student paper competition.)
  • Students may submit only one paper to the student paper competition.
  • Co-authored papers are eligible only if all authors are current students (though prize amounts will not be increased).
  • Any student currently pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate degree and has not already received a terminal degree (PhD, MD, JD, ED, DMin, etc.) is eligible.
  • Format: Double-spaced; Times New Roman 12-point font; references should follow Chicago Manual of Style, footnote style.
  • In order to receive the award, awardees must attend the conference and cover all travel and personal expenses.

deadline

All papers must be submitted online by February 15, 2024.

About the Conference

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity has long worked to address the intersection of medicine, science, and technology from a Judeo-Christian, Hippocratic point of view. An important aspect of that work is speaking to current and coming trends and trajectories in these fields while also holding forth our core commitments regarding human life, human dignity, and human flourishing.

Given the increasingly rapid pace of technological change in our world today, particularly with the rise of various artificial intelligence systems, the time is right to examine such developments while we also reground ourselves in important convictions.

To that end, our 31st conference, The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics, and our MedTech World, will host the following plenary addresses:

  • "The Will to Live and the Life of God" - Matthew Lee Anderson, DPhil
  • "Defining Humanity Down: The Irony of Generative AI and Human Anthropology in Christian Bioethics" - Jason Thacker, PhD (cand.)
  • "AI and Medicine: Living in the New Atlantis" - Kristin Collier, MD
  • "The Way of Medicine for Christians" - Farr Curlin, MD
  • "Can Technology Be an Idol?" - Anna Vollema, MA & Mihretu Guta, PhD
  • "Reframing & Sending" - Michael Sleasman, PhD

In addition, Keith Plummer, PhD, will open the conference on Thursday, June 27, delivering the second annual Virtue Ethics Lecture, titled "Discipled by Our Devices: Spiritual Formation in Our Technological Age."

Workshops and paper sessions will explore additional issues from among the wide spectrum of traditional and emerging bioethical topics.

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity’s annual conference is the leading venue for Christian bioethical engagement, providing opportunities for equipping and education, professional development and academic engagement, as well as networking for professionals, researchers, policymakers, educators, and students across a variety of disciplines and professional contexts.

This conference will be available in person, online, or on-demand. There is no wrong way to attend!